The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the contest, and based on tradition, the contest should have been held in Monaco due to Séverine winning the previous year. Unfortunately, Monaco could not meet the demands of hosting the event. Instead, the BBC stepped in to stage the contest. This was the fourth time the UK had hosted the contest, however this was the first time it was held outside of England. The contest was held at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. Moira Shearer presented the show, which took place on the 25th of March. A total of 18 nations competed with no debuts, returning nations or withdrawals.
The stage design included a screen which was used to introduce the acts and accompany the performances. They were also used to show the interval act and voting sequence which were done at Edinburgh Castle. Before each performance, a picture of each nation’s performer with the song title were shown on the screen.
The voting process was still based around a two-person jury, with one of the members aged between 16-25 one aged between 26-55. They awarded 1 to 5 points for each song other than from their own country. This edition was the first where no countries tied for points. In every other year thus far, at least two countries had received the same score.
Here is the full list of participants:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Yugoslavia
There were four returning artists in this edition. Tereza Kesovija previously represented Monaco in 1966, however returned to represent Yugoslavia. Vicky Leandros previously represented Luxembourg in 1967, and Carlos Mendes represented Portugal in 1968. Finally, Family Four represented Sweden in 1971.
Here are the competitors:
- Mary Roos – Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben (Germany)
- Betty Mars – Comé-Comédie (France)
- Sandie Jones – Ceol an Ghrá (Ireland)
- Jaime Morey – Amanece (Spain)
- The New Seekers – Beg, Steal or Borrow (United Kingdom)
- Grethe Kausland and Benny Borg РSm̴ting (Norway)
- Carlos Mendes – A Festa da vida (Portugal)
- Véronique Müller – C’est la chanson de mon amour (Switzerland)
- Helen and Joseph – L-imħabba (Malta)
- Päivi Paunu and Kim Floor – Muistathan (Finland)
- Milestones – Falter im Wind (Austria)
- Nicola Di Bari – I Giorni dell’arcobaleno (Italy)
- Tereza Kesovija – Muzika i ti (Yugoslavia)
- Family Four – Härliga sommardag (Sweden)
- Anne-Marie Godart and Peter MacLane – Comme on s’aime (Monaco)
- Serge and Christine Ghisoland – À la folie ou pas du tout (Belgium)
- Vicky Leandros – Après toi (Luxembourg)
- Sandra and Andres – Als het om de liefde gaat (Netherlands)
The winner of the contest was Vicky Leandros with her song Après toi. This was Luxembourg’s third win at Eurovision, previously winning in 1961 and 1965. One of the songwriters had also worked on Monaco’s winning entry from the previous year. Luxembourg achieved a total of 128 points, while the United Kingdom, who finished in second place finished with 114 points.
Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, Malta finished in last place.